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Posts Tagged Sex Work

Earlier this week, President Obama issued a proclamation declaring January 2012 to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. He stated,

“We stand with all those who are held in compelled service,” Obama stated. “We recognize the people, organizations and government entities that are working to combat human trafficking; and we recommit to bringing an end to this inexcusable human rights abuse.”

Given this proclamation, and the fact that human trafficking is such a hot topic in the world of human rights, I’d like to bring our attention to some very important and often overlooked facts:

Human trafficking is a broad category of human rights violations. It includes, but is not limited to sexual exploitation. In fact, per the UN, ...

Earlier this week, President Obama issued a proclamation declaring January 2012 to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. He stated,

“We stand with all those who are held in compelled service,” Obama stated. “We recognize ...

For many things that people may think are wrong, or should be eliminated or prevented, the first (or often main) tactic for dealing with them is criminalization. This applies to things like sex work, abortion, drugs, immigration, domestic violence (and many more). Criminalization means that you make the said thing illegal, criminalize the behavior and attach penalties to engaging in it, often which can include time in prison.

A few of these issues, in particular sex work and abortion, are often hotly debated in feminist circles. There are people within our movement in various positions on the issue, but I’ve realized that often a more important question than our opinion about the actual act is the tactics proposed to deal with ...

For many things that people may think are wrong, or should be eliminated or prevented, the first (or often main) tactic for dealing with them is criminalization. This applies to things like sex work, abortion, drugs, immigration, ...

A lot of sex workers and sex worker activists had trouble enjoying their July 4th weekend thanks to Ashton Kutcher, who has been waging war against The Village Voice for airing its concerns about his anti-trafficking efforts and misinformation campaign. On almost every non-sex worker helmed website that covered this story, comments consisted ...

Governor Jindall’s office announced today that he had signed into law a bill, sponsored by Louisiana State Representative Charmaine Marchand Stiaes, that effectively moves prostitution convictions back to the level of misdemeanor.

Previously, police officers and prosecutors in Louisiana had a choice between charging accused sex workers under the prostitution law, which was a misdemeanor, or under Louisiana’s 200-plus year-old “Crime Against Nature” law, a felony. That law was interpreted to apply specifically to solicitation for oral or anal sex, but ...

An INCITE! affiliate and collective of radical women of color, queer people of color, and Indigenous people who identify as people in the sex trades has written a compelling response to Rinku Sen’s ColorLines article “The Complexities of Sex Trafficking, and Some Simple Solutions.” I see their piece as addressing the larger media storm around “Girls Like Us,” the new book from GEMS founder Rachel Lloyd, which is the focus of Sen’s original article. In discussing any issue, especially one like the sex trade where those involved are marginalized in our culture, I think it is vital to center the voices of those most impacted. Lloyd was formerly in the sex trade, but her work is ...

An INCITE! affiliate and collective of radical women of color, queer people of color, and Indigenous people who identify as people in the sex trades has written a compelling response to Rinku Sen’s ColorLines ...

The article exposed the WFN study as bogus and faulty, lending credence to something that sex workers and sex worker advocates have been saying for years: oft-cited stats about unrealistically high numbers of women and children being trafficked into the sex industry tend to have serious flaws. At best they paint an inadequate and victim-focused picture of the industry, and at worst they manufacture shame, fear, and sensationalism for private gain. ...

A lawsuit has been brought against the state of Louisiana for its nonsensical and discriminatory use of an antiquated “crime against nature” statute to arrest and prosecute sex workers.

And it is kind of rocking my world.

According to a recent press release, Women With a Vision (WWAV) has brought its campaign for repeal of Louisiana’s Solicitation of a Crime Against Nature (SCAN) statute to the steps of the federal court with the lawsuit Doe v. Jindal. Calling the SCAN statute “unconstitutional” on equal protection grounds and “cruel and unusual punishment”, the complaint names nine plaintiffs, including a grandmother, a mother of four, three transgender women, and a man, all of whom have been required to register as sex offenders from ...

A lawsuit has been brought against the state of Louisiana for its nonsensical and discriminatory use of an antiquated “crime against nature” statute to arrest and prosecute sex workers.

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